MDC youths were right to bar ZBC from rally

By Makusha Mugabe

The Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) issued a statement condemning “in the strongest terms” the barring of a Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) news crew from covering the MDC rally at Mkoba Stadium, in Gweru at the weekend.

The barring was apparently effected by MDC youths whom the VMCZ said were rowdy, accusing the broadcaster of reporting negatively about their party.

The VMCZ was set up to co-ordinate voluntary compliance by the media with a code of conduct that does not allow hate speech or deliberate misreporting such as that practiced by the ZBC on MDC stories.

While the council must champion the cause for access for all media to national events, it must respect the MDC youths for taking the stance that ZBC is barred from its activities, because their crews are always there to find something negative to report about.

The fact the ZBC consistently spreads hate speech against the MDC in perpetual violation of the VMCZ’s code of conduct should be cause for the VMCZ to approach ZBC with a view to making it change its practices, rather than demonising the MDC for protecting itself.

To actually “condemn in the strongest terms” the barring of the ZBC reporters from executing “their mandate of reporting accurately and objectively to society” smacks of the Council tripping over its own objectives and mandate.

Firstly the ZBC, as demonstrated time and again, was not there to report “accurately and objectively” about the rally, but to find another platform for denouncing the MDC, as is evident in the Herald’s “reporting” of the same event.

As sister organisation which work together to tarnish the MDC, it would not be surprising if the footage had been published in a doctored form to justify an attempt by Jonathan Moyo to make a ludicrous case against MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai.

No such calls are made for the arrest of the military leaders when they refuse to recognise the authority of the Prime Minister or make threats against constitutional order by saying they will not recognise the results of any election which is won by Tsvangirai.

The issue of serious concern here is not that MDC youths interfered with journalists who were undertaking their professional duties – in fact with hindsight, they should be commended. The issue of concern is that the VMCZ seems to embrace such a myopic view, which looks at the rights of journalists to access without taking into consideration the context in which this is taking place.

Constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and access to information was intended to protect citizens and allow for accuracy, rather than the abuse of the medium for political gain.

As the VMCZ correctly says the Constitution makes the right of the Zimbabwean public and all media professionals to receive and impart information a fundamental human right and not a privilege, so we, or they on our behalf, should ask why the ZBC makes it its business to misinform the public.

Their misinformation is such that youths in the MDC, who would normally welcome and protect journalists at their rallies, because they know that the journalists will give coverage to their party, are now turning away ZBC and the Herald.

Until such time as the Zanu (PF) government agrees to media reforms, which it is now clear that they should start at the Commission level and go down to board level and to the newsrooms, they should not attempt to abuse the Constitution by claiming the right to misinform.

It would not be so bad if it ended at misinforming, the ZBC together with The Herald, are also known to incite hatred and violence.

No party would want journalists to be attacked and the MDC has demonstrated consistently that it tolerates divergence of views that exist in Zimbabwean society – in fact the MDC is demanding that divergent views be allowed to find expression in the nation’s media, but it is Zanu (PF) that is refusing.

While we would like the VMCZ to be fully empowered to provide redress in the case of complaints being made, the current structure of the media is such that the whole view presented by the ZBC and the Zimbabwe Newspapers Group would be so objectionable that one does not need to make a complaint.

The Council itself should see what reporting is coming out of the media houses and make an assessment. If they did so they would not be “condemning in the strongest terms” the barring of Reuben Barwe and his crew from a rally where the MDC President is speaking and where they believe they are protecting him from negative publicity, if not incitement.

Makusha Mugabe is the editor of Change Zimbabwe.com